Pneumatic tire.



R. B. GRAY. PNBUMATIC TIRE. APPLIcATIoN FILED 001214, 1909.

Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

lowing is a specification.

communicatin 2 that the said casing' 8 ,can be more invention.

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Specication of Letters raient. itatpntn that., tj?, @gata Application led October la, 190.1). Serial No. 522,?i79.

To alt whom it may concern.:y Y

Be it known that l, ROBERT i3. GRAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at lort Carbon, in the county of Schuylkill and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Pneumatic Tire, of which the ol- 'l his invention relates to an improvement in pneumatic tires designed especiallyv Jfior use in connection with automobile wheels, although, of course, it can be em loyed equally as well with bicycles or the li leL The object of the invention is to provide a pneumatic tire of a novel construction which cannot be 'completely deflated and which can be easily and quickly repaired whenever desired.

l/Vith these and other objects in View, the invention consists in certain novel features hereinafterfnlly described, illustrated in the ,accompanying drawing, and pointed out'in the claim hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form,` proportion, size, and minor ldetails of construction, Within the scope ofthe claim, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages ot the iln the rdrawing:Figure 1 is a detail longitudinal section through a portion of the tire and wall. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same taken onA the line 2-'2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail longi-f tudinal section of the tire, showing the same in position on the' rim of the wheel, and also showing the ends of the inner Atubes and the air chamber,`a'nd-Fig. 4 is an end view o the air chamber, showing the tube connecting nipples extending therefrom. I l

VLike reference numerals designate corresponding parts in all the figures o" thev drawing.' i

Referring to the drawing, an outer tube 5 of the usual type is arranged on the 4rim 6 of an ordinary wheel.

The invention comprises a plurality of inner tubes 7 of various diameters which are yincased in athin tubular cover or casing 8 of any suitable material. By 'employlng tubes oiv different diameters, it will be readily apparent, from an inspection of Fig.

completelyv filled with the said tubes. These 'tubesare open-ended and extend around the I-wheel and have their respective ends 9-9 ranged within the connected toen air-chamber nr ccmpartnient i0, as will be hereinafter fully described. rlhis chamber lis formed ci rubber er other flexible material., and comprises spaced side walls 11-11 that are arranged transversely of the tire, and outer wall or 12, the said side walls and the outer Wall being ci a greater pressed circular inner wall or rim portion 13. This chamber isiormed in ene picos, and is provided on the outer faces o the which are preferably the said chamber; rlhese nipples vary in size, depending on the diameters of the tire portion thickness than the dei inner tubes 7. .l ne ends 9 of the said innerl 4 tubes 7 are respectively arranged to' slap over and engage these nipples, and are re# tained thereon by a clamping wire or other suitable means 15. Check valves 16, or" any suitable construction, are respectively arnipples and communicate with the intericr of the inner tubes and the airchamber 10. The inner wall or rim portion 13 of the air-chamber is provided cen-l trally withan integral and upstanding resilient tube 17, within which is arranged a check valve 18 oi ordinary construct-ion and adapted to admit air first into the air-'cham ber 10 and thence simultaneously through.y the check valves` tg'into the ends 9-9 ofthe' innertubes 7. 'n exteriorly threaded sleeve 19 is arranged around the upstanding tube 17 and is provided with an outwardly extend'- ing flange 20 4at its preferably seated within the rim 'and beari ing directly against air-chamber. A nut 21 is screwed onto the said sleeve 19 -and is adapted to retain 'the the inner wall 130i the sleeve in posit-ion by clamping the rim be-l l tween the fiange 20 and the said nut 21. An internally threaded cap 22, otordinary construction, is screwed onto the sleeve '19 above 'the nut 21, and is adapted to cover the vsaid sleeve, and thereby prevent anything acciico dentally coming in `Contact with the check valve 18.

In assemblingthel tire, the inner tubes are first connected at one end to the nipples 14 of the air-chamber by thc clamping wire-15. The tubes are then .inserted in the covering 8 and are moved along within said covering until the opening 23 in the said cover is reached. This opening surrounds the inner wall 13 of the air-chamber. The tubes are then inserted within theouter tube 5 and are.4

. as it may pass between any two of the said` l though one of the inner tubes might'be-puno- .tured, the tire vremains nearly 1n anormal naanoo *be saine, until the open- 'a li the inner wall 13 e i'reeends ci' the uected to the nipples l will of the air-chamber meansl. The sleeve 'l e rim G, and the tube thesaid sleeve. The r positioned in place, i conwed onto' the said sleeve, i tue is applied. I it will be readily ap. when air isA forced into the airchamber f a hand pump or other suit` .l ile means, l or the checl; Valves 161 will bey 'by the pressure' lllfw@ 1' operated rlf'he air Will then chamber. l 'ze said check:- Yalves and into T. Thus it will be'. seen, that pressure exerted equally upozi both ends of "Llp inner tubes. After the said inner f been sulliciently inflate'chthe pres- @Ueni `will, or" course, close'the check hould, however, the tire pass ring agent, as' for instance, a ein. ,re ti r'e will not. be deat-ed, beuA said tack or other agent will only puncture the tube with which it came in conta-et. Though the punctured tube' Will be deflated, the remaining tubes will remain' inlated and their inliation will hold them firmly against the covering and thecovering clamped against the inner surface of the outer tube. lt is'voi,I course possible that the taci; may not even `puiicture lone of the tubes,

which maybe done at any time vehicle has reached destination.`

The novel feature of-this invention resides particularly Vin an.

between the ends of the inner tubes and incased Within the tire and connected'to. both ends -ol' all of the air to the tubes in inlating the "tire is direct, and inflationv isn accomplished with greater ease and -less expenditure or ell'ort. It will be noted that-the inner Wall 13 ofthe chamber projects through the openings provided in theinner Walls oi"v the inner casing and outer for said openings, and that thee-aid inner Wall 13 is disposed flush with said outer tube. Alt will also be seen that the flange the sleeve' 19 bears upon the inner Wall l-S and is interposed between said inner ,Wall and the rim of thewheel.

What l claim is v In. combination With an outer tube, a se-V riesof openended se'paratetubes of Varying diameters Within the saine, .andremovable Y individually therefrom, a nora'teir the n collectively or mally-closed air 'chamber arranged trans-v versely Within the-casingand comprising an outer wall .aninner Walll and opposite side Walls to Which-theendsofall the tubes are fastened, the outertube having an opening in the inner Wall thereof, 'said opening' per-Av mitting the inner end of the chamber lto projctthrough and forni a closure for the sain a tube projecting' from theinner wall of the chamber, and a check valve in said tube.

In testimony, that-I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto 'alixed my. signature in the presence oftwo `Witnesses.

o 4'ROBERT B. GRAY. Witnesses v WM. i G. vVVELLs, FRANK LITTLE.

tubes. lt will thus 'be apparent, that alindatedcondition. It is then only necessary to Withdraw that particular tube from the tire and replace the saine with a new one,

vilo'pies of this patent-may be obtained for five cents each, by

addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

interior chamber located vthe tubes so that the distribution.`

tube, and. forms a closure 

